AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And free.
He looked into her eyes. “This is just the beginning, Lex.”
For the first time in a long time, it felt true.
29
Nick crept through the house, the ticking of the grandfather clock marking his footsteps. It was later than the last time he’d come, and all the lights were off except for the sconces lighting the hall.
After Alexa’s rescue and the killing of Matis Juska, he’d half-expected additional security measures, but he’d entered the house without any trouble, exactly as he’d done before.
Some people would always think they were invincible.
He headed for the door at the end of the hall and turned the knob, then stepped into the room.
A fire blazed in the hearth, larger than the one that had been burning there the first time he’dentered the house. The room was warm, an elaborately patterned carpet covering the wood floors.
He approached the bed quietly, surprised by the slightness of the figure under the blankets. In repose, he looked like any other old man, one whose death wouldn’t be at all surprising given his advanced age. There probably wouldn’t even be an autopsy.
Nick carefully moved the books, water glass, and eyeglass case on the nightstand farther away from the bed. He stared down at Frederick Walker for a few seconds, wondering if the other man dreamed.
Then he picked up one of the extra pillows with his gloved hands and held it over Frederick’s face.
The old man struggled at first, his body thrashing under the covers, arms flailing out, smacking against the nightstand where his books and water used to be, but it didn’t last long. Less than a minute after Nick placed the pillow over his face, Frederick Walker’s body grew still.
He removed the pillow and fluffed it to make sure it looked like no one had been there. He put it back in place next to Frederick’s body, his eyes wide and unseeing.
He exited the room the way he’d come, reversing down the hall and through Frederick Walker’s office.The photo of Frederick and Leland had been returned to its frame on Frederick’s desk, and Nick stopped to look at it for a few seconds.
There was nothing he could do about Leland.
Yet.
But Leland was a shell of a man without his father. Left to his own devices, his fall would probably come sooner rather than later, and Nick had a feeling it would be a very public fall indeed.
Nick turned away from the desk and exited from the balcony doors. He was suddenly anxious to get home. Alexa would be waiting for him. She didn’t need to know Nick had been here. Like everyone else, she would probably think Frederick Walker had died of natural causes.
He used the rope he’d left to rappel down from the balcony.
Then again, maybe not.
EPILOGUE
Damian Cavallo stared out the doors leading to the terrace, watching the two women — one blond, one brunette — lounging by the pool, deep in conversation, while three children played in the water. It was warm in Rome this time of year, and a gentle breeze made its way into the large, immaculately decorated room, carrying with it the scent of oranges.
“Damian, you made it.”
He turned as a man entered the room, his movements brisk.
Damian always wondered if Nico Vitale had been born with the bearing of a king or if it was something he’d earned through his takedown of the old Syndicate leadership. Technically Nico was equal partners in the Syndicate with Farrell Black,Christophe Marchand, and Luca Cassano, but Damian didn’t think he was imagining the reverence Syndicate bosses seemed to have for Nico.
His dark hair was slicked back, his amber eyes gleaming with purpose. He wore trousers, a white shirt unbuttoned at the neck, the picture of regal ease as he shook Damian’s hand and sat in the chair behind an ornately carved desk.
“Thanks for having us,” Damian said. “We’re on our way to Capri.”
Their house in Capri was Aria’s favorite in spite of everything that had happened there in the past. He’d worried about the twins at first — the house was perched on a cliff with direct access to the sea from the ground floor — but the four-year-old twins had taken to it all like fish to water, and they spent their time running barefoot over the house’s tile floors and diving into the ocean right off the dock.
“You’re always welcome.” Nico said. “Angel likes the company.”
